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Plane crash victims were both local

Two men who died in a plane crash in Gary, Ind., are both from St. Augustine.

Vincent Vaccarello, 45, and Patsy Crisafi, 48, died when a Cirrus SR22 single-engine plane crashed and burst into flames in a wooded area behind a Gary charter school Wednesday morning.

Lake County Coroner Merrilee Frey released the names of the victims on Friday after making positive identifications through dental records, according to a news release from the coroner’s office.

“We have been in contact with the next of kin for each of the victims,” Frey said. “We have reassured them that we will work to bring closure to this very sad event.”

Crisafi has ties to several area businesses. He is listed as the executive vice president for Roadway Worker Training of Jacksonville.

Crisafi helped start the company as well as two others, Railroad Protective Services and Roadway Worker Contracting, according to a company website.

Information about Vaccarello could not be confirmed as of Friday evening.

The plane, which was registered to a company managed by Crisafi, left the Northeast Florida Regional Airport on Tuesday afternoon and was scheduled to arrive in Smyrna, Tenn., around 5:30 p.m., according to reports.

The plane was heading to the Gary/Chicago International Airport when it crashed, according to the Gary Police Department.

Gary Police Department Cmdr. Sean Jones said investigators took the wreckage to a secure site.